Conclusion

Connectal bridges the gap between software and hardware development, enabling developers to create integrated solutions rapidly. With Connectal, we take a pragmatic approach to software and hardware development in which we try to avoid any dependence on proposed solutions to open research problems.

Use of Connectal’s interface compiler ensures that software and hardware remain consistent and make it easy to update the hardware/software boundary as needed in a variety of execution contexts. The generated portals permit concurrent and low-latency access to the accelerator and enable different processes or the kernel to have safe isolated access through dedicated interfaces. Support for sharing memory between software and hardware makes it easy to achieve high transfer speeds between the two environments.

Connectal supports Linux and Android operating systems running on x86 and ARM CPUs. It currently supports Xilinx FPGAs and runs on the full range of Xilinx Series 7 devices. Our fully-scripted development process enables the use of continuous integration of software and hardware development. Integrating software development early makes it easier to ensure that the complete solution actually meets design targets and customer requirements.